Yeezus
Yeezus is the sixth studio album by American hip hop musician Kanye West, released in 2013 on Roc-A-Fella Records. The album began production in the living room of a loft space at a Paris hotel. During the creation process, West gathered various artists and close collaborators for production on the album, including Mike Dean, Daft Punk, 88-Keys, No I.D. and Symbolyc One. Yeezus also features vocal guest appearances from Assassin and King L, as well as previous collaborators Justin Vernon, Frank Ocean, Chief Keef, Kid Cudi and Charlie Wilson. West enlisted the help of producer Rick Rubin only fifteen days before its due date to strip down the record's sound in favour of a more minimalist approach, a contrast to his 2011 maximalism effort My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. West was inspired by minimalism from design, including architecture, with a particular interest in the works of Le Corbusier, and visited the Louvre several times while he was in Paris. Musically, Yeezus is dark and sonically experimental, combining elements of Chicago drill, dancehall, acid house, and industrial music. West continues his use of unconventional samples, and returns to his original style of sampling soul music on the album's final song, "Bound 2". Yeezus has no album artowkr, and the physical CD edition of the album was released in a clear jewel box with only a strip of red tape sealing the case and a sticker with sample credits on the back. Initial promotion of Yeezus included worldwide video projections of the album's music and live television performances. West released two singles from the album, the song "Black Skinhead" in July 2013 and "Bound 2" the following month. The album received rave reviews from music critics, who considered Yeezus among West's best work and praised the difference in sound compared to his previous album. However, it was met with mixed reactions from the public, with divided opinions emerging after the album had an Internet leak four days prior to release. Yeezus debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 327,000 copies in its first week of release, but sales soon diminished. It topped the charts of thirty other countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia. Less than two months after its release, the album was certified gold by the RIAA and later platinum in January 2014. Yeezus was nominated in two categories at the 2014 Grammy Awards: Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song for "New Slaves". Track listing Notes *Track 1 features drums performed by Dylan Wissing, percussion performed by Matt Teitelman, and choir vocals performed by Carmen Roman, K. Nita, John Morgan, Jessenia Pena, Ronnie Artis, Crystal Brun, Sean Drew, Natalis Ruby Rubero, Lorraine Berry, Gloria Ryann and Timeka Lee. *Track 3 features vocals performed by Justin Vernon *Track 4 features vocals performed by Frank Ocean *Track 5 features vocals performed by Chief Keef and Justin Vernon *Track 6 features vocals performed by Justin Vernon and Assassin *Track 8 features vocals performed by Kid Cudi *Track 9 features vocals performed by King L *Track 10 features vocals performed by Charlie Wilson, and bass and guitar performed by Mike Dean Category:2013 albums Category:Kanye West albums Category:Albums produced by Kanye West Category:Roc-A-Fella Records albums Category:Def Jam Recordings albums Category:Albums produced by Rick Rubin Category:Albums produced by No I.D. Category:Albums produced by Mike Dean Category:Albums produced by 88-Keys Category:Albums produced by Lupe Fiasco Category:Albums produced by Travi$ Scott Category:Albums produced by S1 Category:Billboard 200 number-one albums